Hello, I would like to thank you for the excellent material for the rpg community, through the material from @gnarledmonster (Alex Damaceno) I came across your material about yokais, I did a few weeks' work on it so that Brazilian GMs and players can have access to this in our language, I would appreciate it if you could include it in your official uploads just keeping the translation credits. Thanks again for all the light RPG content about yokai.
*Sorry, but I couldn't keep the same sources due to lack of knowledge.
**I sent the link in your Instagram DM
Sincerely, Renan de Gusmão Guimarães. (@renan.oke)
I had the opportunity to buy the game from the publisher who publishes it in Italy and even though I brought it to the table there were some things that left me uncertain. With regards to combat management, I wanted to understand how successful damage to the enemy worked. From what I understand, if an enemy has a threat level of 13, players will have to roll that result to deal damage to them, is this correct? Also what is the recommended maximum enemy level threshold? Thanks for any replies!
Damage is equal to the difference between the result of the roll and the level of the target. So, if an opponent is level 13, it’s necessary to roll a 14 to start dealing damage. 12 or less means the attacker suffers damage. A result that matches exactly the level of the opponent (13 in this instance) means no one dealt damage on that round.
Remember that the level of an NPC decreases as they receive damage, making them easier to hit.
For the maximum level, I wouldn’t go over 16, but depends on how powerful the hunters are.
In any case, violence should be the last resort, as combat is pretty deadly! Specially getting that first blow clean.
I thank you for the answer! I wanted to ask you one last question: does nine still count as "unlucky success" in combat rolls? Or does any number below the enemy's threat level apply to them?
Just played this last night with my buddies and we really enjoyed it. The setting is awesome and the system is pretty solid. I hope you release more for this game.
This is awesome! Can I make a translation for portuguese for you? I would like to DM some games with this system, but some people on the party don't know english.
Ok quick question im working on my own tg hack., and im looking for some clarification. How do enemies attack a pc, or is the various combat rolls completely player facing.
Yeah. Only players roll in combat. When a NPC attacks a hunter, the player rolls to defend: if the result is lower than 10+NPC level, the hunter takes damage. If the result is higher, the hunter manages to counterattack and deals the damage.
Make a regular roll (2d6) and add your wisdom to the result. 10 or less means the new item grants you +1 to any action in which you use it. If the result is higher than 10, for each point above 10, the item gets an additional bonus point. For example, if the total result is 12, the bonus for that item will be +3.
Apologies if this was asked before - how much money should the player characters start with? Is there a suggested amount or should it be decided by the Grandmaster?
it’s up to the GM. In the rules, just the earnings per day for each profession are given. You can use that number to give them, for instance, a month worth of salary.
Right in the last comment, dv88vb said they would like to share the one they wrote to introduce their daughters to RPG gaming, and I'm currently writing one myself. I hope I can release it in a couple of months.
Bought the game last year and finally playing it with my daughters in a Kimetsu No Yaiba inspired settings. They love it ! (it's their first RPG).
I wrote a 20 pages scenario, an adaptation of the classic 1998 MERP, that I would love to share with the community (maps, and lot of stuffs included). Where would be the best place to do it?
So happy to hear that. You made my day. I feel honored that they had a wonderful first experience with RPG games with Yokai Hunters Society. About publishing the scenario. Depends on what's your goal: If you just have a simple doc you used for running the adventure, you can just post a link to your dropbox or google drive here in the comments section. I would love to check it out myself! If you have a well-polished and layout document that you would like to publish and sell or offer for free, I'm partial to itch, but you could publish it at DriveThruRPG also.
Pretty cool! I don't know the original adventure, so I don't know how far you went with the changes but seems fun to run. I might give it a go in our next session.
Hi guys...sorry for my question but Im not able understand how combat/fight works. Someone can help me and explain with other words than the words in the manual?
I'm planning to release something to clarify combat rules and other situations that players have problems with. I hope this example of play works for now. Let me know if you have any doubts.
------- Yokai Hunters Society - Example of play: Combat. -------
Hasegawa Aiko, a 37 years old hunter is assaulted by a thief (human-level 1) while traveling alone through the woods.
EQUIPMENT: 1d8 sen per day, Hyontan (gourd canteen) (+3), Pendant (+1), Rope (+3)
[When combat starts, if the narrative can’t clearly dictate who’s acting first, roll initiative. In this case, the hunter failed a Sharpness roll so she couldn't spot the thief hiding in the woods.]
THIEF’S TURN 1: The thief attacks by surprise and decides to hit the hunter with a staff in her head. Aiko might be able to stop the thief, but she’s being attacked by surprise (disadvantage), so the hunter player rolls 3d6 and adds Aiko’s Courage (+2) to the result. They roll 5, 2, and 4. They drop the best (5) and add up the other two numbers plus the Courage bonus: 6 + 2 = 8. The thief is a human level 1, so the target number to save against his attacks is 11 (10 plus level). Aiko feels a hard blow to the head and takes 3 points of damage (the difference between the target number and the result of the roll: 11 - 8 = 3).
AIKO’S TURN 1: She’s bleeding, but still conscious and throws an instinctive punch at the thief: the hunter player rolls 2d6 (5 and 1) and adds Aiko’s Courage (+2). Another 8!! The thief stops the punch and hits her with the staff again. She suffers 3 more points of damage.
THIEF’S TURN 2: The thief's not an assassin, he just wants the money. He tries to put Aiko to sleep by choking her with the staff. Aiko has no weapons and only 4 HP remaining, so the hunter player decides to use the Curse die: rolls 2d6 and 1d8 (3, 4, and 8), adds the two best results and Aiko’s Courage (4 + 8 + 2) for a total of 14!! Aiko loses 1 Curse resistance point, but grabs the thief’s staff and hits him back with it in the teeth. The thief suffers 3 points of damage (14 - 11) and sees his HP (and target number) reduced to 8.
AIKO’S TURN 2: Aiko needs something to defend herself and spends this turn grabbing a good-sized stone. The hunter player rolls to find out how helpful the stone will be in combat: 2d6 (3, 6) + Wisdom (+2) resulting in a total of 11. One point over 10, which means the stone will grant her a +1.
THIEF’S TURN 3: The thief growls and spits out a blood-soaked tooth. He raises the staff and lunges at Aiko. She weighs the stone and waits for him. The hunter player rolls to defend: 2d6 (5, 2) + Courage (+2) + Stone bonus (+1) for a total of 10! Aiko dodges the staff with a quick move to her left and slams the stone into the thief's stomach. He suffers 2 points of damage and sees his HP (and target number) reduced to 6.
AIKO’S TURN 3: While the thief is bent over, she grabs the stone with both hands and launches another blow. The hunter player rolls to attack: 2d6 (3, 6) + Courage (+2) + Stone bonus (+1) for a total of 12. Enough to reduce the thief’s HP to 0.
I run this bi-weekly for my group, really loooove it. Added some "breath total concentration" mechanics for it, obviously inspired by Demon Slayer, which was fun and easy to do! Also added a Mononoke (the Manga/Animation) inspired mechanic rewarding the players for discovering more information about the Yokai they are dealing with (giving them a +1 bonus once they complete a Blades-in-the-dark inspired clock. There are three of them : heart, form and reason, they get +1 for each that is completed). The "Mask" vibrates with an energy fueled by the "Mystery" of the Yokai. It works well, even for less "pulpy" games!
I would like to know : do you have any intention of creating some cool short-scenarios? I am very lazy and having cool, historically-ish accurate scenarios with just enough to get me rolling is something I am looking for when I don't have the energy to write a campaign haha.
So happy to read this. Thanks a lot. The mechanics sound really fun. My wife keeps telling me I should watch Demon Slayer, but it's still waiting on my list.
I've got a small scenario almost finished that I hope I can release soon, yeah, but first I have to publish a little "monster manual" that it's ready for edit and layout.
Hello! Sure thing! The idea is that the character owns an object that grants them power over/against the Yokai. In Mononoke it is a special sword that allows the Medicine Seller to change form, but to keep things simpler it only translates to a bonus. For Yokai Hunter Society as chose the Mask instead (if they lose the mask or it is shattered, they lose the bonus).
How it works : Each Yokai has a three fundamentals that, when uncovered by the characters, each grant a stackable +1 to rolls made against the Yokai : 1. Katachi physical shape : The type of Yokai they are, like a Kappa, Bakeneko, Hannya etc. 2. Makoto their Origin, why they exist or brought them here. Do they exist due to a tragedy of sorts? Where they summoned by evil men? Did the stench of the many battlefield birthed by the Meiji restoration attract them? 3. Kotowari their reasoning or impulse. Sometimes the Kotowari is informed by the Katachi, but it is not always the case. A wronged ghost might be seeking vengeance against Ex-Samurai specifically, a Bakeneko against a group of people who wronged their owner, a Kappa just wants yummy buttholes.
-When I build a scenario, I write down broad "clues" that inform each of the three fundamentals. -I track how close they are from the full story with a clock, one for each of the fundamentals. Normally those are 4-ticks clocks, exactly like in blades in the dark. -When the players discover/encounter information relevant to a fundamental, I tick it once or twice (sometimes even straight-up filling the clock in the case of the Katachi : if they meet a Kappa face to face, it is pretty much all the information they needed hahaha). When any one is filled, then they are given a +1 bonus. -In-game there are also Kanji (one for each of the fundamental) engraved behind the mask. They emit a mysterious glow that only them can see when clues are nearby (they still have to plan and make the right decisions to acquire them).
I run games for mentally-drained folks that still want a mystery so it has served me well so far hahaha.
Howdy. A couple of friends and I took the game for a spin this afternoon and ran into an issue with the combat. One of our hunters rolled a 10 against a normal human character which resulted in zero damage. I understand that there would be a narrative consequence for the success beyond simply "Hit Point" damage, but the only intention of the player in this scenario was to kill his intended target. We didn't find an obvious compromise in the rules for this discrepancy. Do you have advice for how to handle this type of roll in the future?
In order to give you a better answer I would need more info about the situation, but it sounds mechanically correct to me. If the total result (after adding bonuses) was a 10 and you say there was no damage dealt, I assume that you considered that human a level 0 character, hence the target number to perform an attack on them will be 10. Matching that number means there was no damage, so the target of the attack was able to evade it.
Probably you think it's a discrepancy cause you are considering the 10 a success during this attack. When you match the target number during an attack, you are not succeeding, but failing without giving the opponent the option to counterattack, so that round of the combat had no physical harm for any of the two.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you need further clarifications.
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Hello, I would like to thank you for the excellent material for the rpg community, through the material from @gnarledmonster (Alex Damaceno) I came across your material about yokais, I did a few weeks' work on it so that Brazilian GMs and players can have access to this in our language, I would appreciate it if you could include it in your official uploads just keeping the translation credits. Thanks again for all the light RPG content about yokai.
*Sorry, but I couldn't keep the same sources due to lack of knowledge.
**I sent the link in your Instagram DM
Sincerely, Renan de Gusmão Guimarães. (@renan.oke)
I had the opportunity to buy the game from the publisher who publishes it in Italy and even though I brought it to the table there were some things that left me uncertain. With regards to combat management, I wanted to understand how successful damage to the enemy worked. From what I understand, if an enemy has a threat level of 13, players will have to roll that result to deal damage to them, is this correct? Also what is the recommended maximum enemy level threshold? Thanks for any replies!
hi Louis!
Damage is equal to the difference between the result of the roll and the level of the target. So, if an opponent is level 13, it’s necessary to roll a 14 to start dealing damage. 12 or less means the attacker suffers damage. A result that matches exactly the level of the opponent (13 in this instance) means no one dealt damage on that round.
Remember that the level of an NPC decreases as they receive damage, making them easier to hit.
For the maximum level, I wouldn’t go over 16, but depends on how powerful the hunters are.
In any case, violence should be the last resort, as combat is pretty deadly! Specially getting that first blow clean.
I thank you for the answer! I wanted to ask you one last question: does nine still count as "unlucky success" in combat rolls? Or does any number below the enemy's threat level apply to them?
Just played this last night with my buddies and we really enjoyed it. The setting is awesome and the system is pretty solid. I hope you release more for this game.
Hey, we talked a little bit about your game on the new episode of our podcast:
https://goblinsandgrowlers.podbean.com/e/scratching-our-indie-game-itchio-the-go...
I just listened to it! Thanks a lot for your kind words and support. So happy you liked it. Hope you have the chance to give it a spin!
You're quite welcome! I hope I didn't butcher your name pronunciation too much.
Sorry, not for the moment...
This is awesome! Can I make a translation for portuguese for you? I would like to DM some games with this system, but some people on the party don't know english.
Hey! Send me an email to punkpadour@gmail.com and we can talk about it!
Sent!
Ok quick question im working on my own tg hack., and im looking for some clarification. How do enemies attack a pc, or is the various combat rolls completely player facing.
Just want to make sure as i work on my own hack
Sorry for the delay! I missed this comment.
Yeah. Only players roll in combat. When a NPC attacks a hunter, the player rolls to defend: if the result is lower than 10+NPC level, the hunter takes damage. If the result is higher, the hunter manages to counterattack and deals the damage.
Very cool. Any upcoming YHS content to be on the look out for.
Yo! Just a quick question. How do you roll for wisdom on new items?
Make a regular roll (2d6) and add your wisdom to the result. 10 or less means the new item grants you +1 to any action in which you use it. If the result is higher than 10, for each point above 10, the item gets an additional bonus point. For example, if the total result is 12, the bonus for that item will be +3.
Hope that helps!
Yes it does. Thanks!
Loving the game so far, having a lot of fun GMing for my friends
so happy to read that!
Apologies if this was asked before - how much money should the player characters start with? Is there a suggested amount or should it be decided by the Grandmaster?
it’s up to the GM. In the rules, just the earnings per day for each profession are given. You can use that number to give them, for instance, a month worth of salary.
All clear now, thanks for the clarification :)
Are there any pre-written adventure modules that anyone is aware of?
Yeah!
We got a free one-session scenario called The Gourdian Not: https://punkpadour.itch.io/gourdian-not
Random Ramblin Press published another one called The Dark House: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/368987/Dakuhausu--The-Dark-House?manufactur...
Right in the last comment, dv88vb said they would like to share the one they wrote to introduce their daughters to RPG gaming, and I'm currently writing one myself. I hope I can release it in a couple of months.
Nice! Thank you!
Bought the game last year and finally playing it with my daughters in a Kimetsu No Yaiba inspired settings. They love it ! (it's their first RPG).
I wrote a 20 pages scenario, an adaptation of the classic 1998 MERP, that I would love to share with the community (maps, and lot of stuffs included).
Where would be the best place to do it?
dv8.8vb@gmail.com
So happy to hear that. You made my day. I feel honored that they had a wonderful first experience with RPG games with Yokai Hunters Society.
About publishing the scenario. Depends on what's your goal: If you just have a simple doc you used for running the adventure, you can just post a link to your dropbox or google drive here in the comments section. I would love to check it out myself! If you have a well-polished and layout document that you would like to publish and sell or offer for free, I'm partial to itch, but you could publish it at DriveThruRPG also.
Here is the first draft of the scenario.
I would be glad if you could go throught it and tell me what do you think of it :D !
Pretty cool! I don't know the original adventure, so I don't know how far you went with the changes but seems fun to run. I might give it a go in our next session.
Hi guys...sorry for my question but Im not able understand how combat/fight works. Someone can help me and explain with other words than the words in the manual?
Thx (sorry for my eng but I'm not native eng)
Hi, FiloArdimentoso.
I'm planning to release something to clarify combat rules and other situations that players have problems with. I hope this example of play works for now. Let me know if you have any doubts.
-------
Yokai Hunters Society - Example of play: Combat.
-------
Hasegawa Aiko, a 37 years old hunter is assaulted by a thief (human-level 1) while traveling alone through the woods.
Aiko’s stats:
Courage +2 | Self-control +0 | Sharpness +0 | Wisdom +2
HP 10 | Curse resistance 2
EQUIPMENT: 1d8 sen per day, Hyontan (gourd canteen) (+3), Pendant (+1), Rope (+3)
[When combat starts, if the narrative can’t clearly dictate who’s acting first, roll initiative. In this case, the hunter failed a Sharpness roll so she couldn't spot the thief hiding in the woods.]
THIEF’S TURN 1: The thief attacks by surprise and decides to hit the hunter with a staff in her head. Aiko might be able to stop the thief, but she’s being attacked by surprise (disadvantage), so the hunter player rolls 3d6 and adds Aiko’s Courage (+2) to the result. They roll 5, 2, and 4. They drop the best (5) and add up the other two numbers plus the Courage bonus: 6 + 2 = 8. The thief is a human level 1, so the target number to save against his attacks is 11 (10 plus level). Aiko feels a hard blow to the head and takes 3 points of damage (the difference between the target number and the result of the roll: 11 - 8 = 3).
AIKO’S TURN 1: She’s bleeding, but still conscious and throws an instinctive punch at the thief: the hunter player rolls 2d6 (5 and 1) and adds Aiko’s Courage (+2). Another 8!! The thief stops the punch and hits her with the staff again. She suffers 3 more points of damage.
THIEF’S TURN 2: The thief's not an assassin, he just wants the money. He tries to put Aiko to sleep by choking her with the staff. Aiko has no weapons and only 4 HP remaining, so the hunter player decides to use the Curse die: rolls 2d6 and 1d8 (3, 4, and 8), adds the two best results and Aiko’s Courage (4 + 8 + 2) for a total of 14!! Aiko loses 1 Curse resistance point, but grabs the thief’s staff and hits him back with it in the teeth. The thief suffers 3 points of damage (14 - 11) and sees his HP (and target number) reduced to 8.
AIKO’S TURN 2: Aiko needs something to defend herself and spends this turn grabbing a good-sized stone. The hunter player rolls to find out how helpful the stone will be in combat: 2d6 (3, 6) + Wisdom (+2) resulting in a total of 11. One point over 10, which means the stone will grant her a +1.
THIEF’S TURN 3: The thief growls and spits out a blood-soaked tooth. He raises the staff and lunges at Aiko. She weighs the stone and waits for him. The hunter player rolls to defend: 2d6 (5, 2) + Courage (+2) + Stone bonus (+1) for a total of 10! Aiko dodges the staff with a quick move to her left and slams the stone into the thief's stomach. He suffers 2 points of damage and sees his HP (and target number) reduced to 6.
AIKO’S TURN 3: While the thief is bent over, she grabs the stone with both hands and launches another blow. The hunter player rolls to attack: 2d6 (3, 6) + Courage (+2) + Stone bonus (+1) for a total of 12. Enough to reduce the thief’s HP to 0.
Thank u very much, is very clearly and exhaustive this example of fight and combat turn.
''More than enough to reduce the thief’s HP to 0.''
Shouldn't the HP reduce to 5 (total of 7 - the target nember of 6 ) ?
you’re totally right! I’ll change the result of the roll to make it work. Thanks for pointing it out!
I run this bi-weekly for my group, really loooove it. Added some "breath total concentration" mechanics for it, obviously inspired by Demon Slayer, which was fun and easy to do!
Also added a Mononoke (the Manga/Animation) inspired mechanic rewarding the players for discovering more information about the Yokai they are dealing with (giving them a +1 bonus once they complete a Blades-in-the-dark inspired clock. There are three of them : heart, form and reason, they get +1 for each that is completed). The "Mask" vibrates with an energy fueled by the "Mystery" of the Yokai. It works well, even for less "pulpy" games!
I would like to know : do you have any intention of creating some cool short-scenarios? I am very lazy and having cool, historically-ish accurate scenarios with just enough to get me rolling is something I am looking for when I don't have the energy to write a campaign haha.
Thanks a lot for your work!
So happy to read this. Thanks a lot. The mechanics sound really fun. My wife keeps telling me I should watch Demon Slayer, but it's still waiting on my list.
I've got a small scenario almost finished that I hope I can release soon, yeah, but first I have to publish a little "monster manual" that it's ready for edit and layout.
Hi would you mind explaining exactly how this mononoke mechanic works so I can shamelessly steal it for my own game?
Hello!
Sure thing! The idea is that the character owns an object that grants them power over/against the Yokai. In Mononoke it is a special sword that allows the Medicine Seller to change form, but to keep things simpler it only translates to a bonus. For Yokai Hunter Society as chose the Mask instead (if they lose the mask or it is shattered, they lose the bonus).
How it works :
Each Yokai has a three fundamentals that, when uncovered by the characters, each grant a stackable +1 to rolls made against the Yokai :
1. Katachi physical shape : The type of Yokai they are, like a Kappa, Bakeneko, Hannya etc.
2. Makoto their Origin, why they exist or brought them here. Do they exist due to a tragedy of sorts? Where they summoned by evil men? Did the stench of the many battlefield birthed by the Meiji restoration attract them?
3. Kotowari their reasoning or impulse. Sometimes the Kotowari is informed by the Katachi, but it is not always the case. A wronged ghost might be seeking vengeance against Ex-Samurai specifically, a Bakeneko against a group of people who wronged their owner, a Kappa just wants yummy buttholes.
-When I build a scenario, I write down broad "clues" that inform each of the three fundamentals.
-I track how close they are from the full story with a clock, one for each of the fundamentals. Normally those are 4-ticks clocks, exactly like in blades in the dark.
-When the players discover/encounter information relevant to a fundamental, I tick it once or twice (sometimes even straight-up filling the clock in the case of the Katachi : if they meet a Kappa face to face, it is pretty much all the information they needed hahaha).
When any one is filled, then they are given a +1 bonus.
-In-game there are also Kanji (one for each of the fundamental) engraved behind the mask. They emit a mysterious glow that only them can see when clues are nearby (they still have to plan and make the right decisions to acquire them).
I run games for mentally-drained folks that still want a mystery so it has served me well so far hahaha.
thanks so much! It's a brilliantly elegant bit of games rules!
Howdy. A couple of friends and I took the game for a spin this afternoon and ran into an issue with the combat. One of our hunters rolled a 10 against a normal human character which resulted in zero damage. I understand that there would be a narrative consequence for the success beyond simply "Hit Point" damage, but the only intention of the player in this scenario was to kill his intended target. We didn't find an obvious compromise in the rules for this discrepancy. Do you have advice for how to handle this type of roll in the future?
Hi! Thanks a lot for the feedback.
In order to give you a better answer I would need more info about the situation, but it sounds mechanically correct to me. If the total result (after adding bonuses) was a 10 and you say there was no damage dealt, I assume that you considered that human a level 0 character, hence the target number to perform an attack on them will be 10. Matching that number means there was no damage, so the target of the attack was able to evade it.
Probably you think it's a discrepancy cause you are considering the 10 a success during this attack. When you match the target number during an attack, you are not succeeding, but failing without giving the opponent the option to counterattack, so that round of the combat had no physical harm for any of the two.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you need further clarifications.
one word : impressive 😍
Thanks!
I absolutely love the setting L, been contemplating using YHS and Sprawl Goons upgraded to make a cyberpunk version of YHS